Lance Almond <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
     <snip>
>on closer inspection the bees were surrounding a
>foot ball size comb. i was able to put the swarm, comb, branches and leaves
>in a auper with the frames removed
     <snip>
>i only have three frames in the super,
>there is too much comb that is hatching bees (fascinating to watch) i don't
>know what to do next.
     <snip>
>Any tips, advice would bee most appreciated.

Two options that I've taken with natural comb, and have worked well for me
are:
1.) Take the comb, brush the bees of it and wrap it loosely in a towel,
taking it away from the hive to a place where you can work with it.  Grap
your remaining empty frames, some cotton twine and a knife.  If your empty
frames already have foundation installed in them, even better, though it's
not absolutely necessary.  If the frames have been wired horizontally,
remove the wires on those frames you'll be inserting the natural comb into
(see below).

Take one of your combs, lay it (proper side up) on the foundation in the
frame and "trace" around the edges with the knife to mark a hole you will
cut out of the foundation.  If it's crimp-wired foundation, you'll have to
snip those wires at the cut marks.  Using your knife, cut the foundation and
fit the comb snugly into the hole.  If you can fit more than one piece of
comb into the frame, that's fine too.  You may have to trim a bit of comb
here and there if it's too large to fit in a frame.

Once you have the combs fitting snug in the frames, make a verticle wrap
around the frame and comb a couple times with the cotton twine, tying it off
each wrap.  Do the same horizontally.  The twine will help secure the comb
in the frames until the bees are able to.  You can then put the frames back
in the brood chamber.  The bees will cut the twine and carry the pieces out
of the hive.  The resulting comb will "meld" with the comb they build to it.
There may be a few "transition" cells (cells of odd size) drawn at the edges
of the natural comb where it meets the drawn foundation, but this won't pose
a problem.  Some beekeepers use rubber bands instead of cotton twine, but as
I mentioned in another post a while back, I've often wondered just how many
bees get maimed or killed when those rubber bands snap!

Another option is:
2.) Take an empty super out to your hive, with a queen excluder underneath
it (setting these on top of the turned-over telescoping cover that you have
taken off the hive works well for this, if you're using one).  Remove the
comb from the brood chamber (making sure the queen is not on them) and place
the combs inside of this super, leaning up against the walls.  Place your
remaining frames in the now empty space in the bottom super.  Put the queen
excluder/super with combs on top of the chamber and close up.  The queen
excluder will prevent the queen from going up and laying more eggs in the
natural comb, but the brood in them will still be cared for by workers.
Providing an entrance to this top super would be optimal for allowing any
drones in the chamber, or emerging drones, to escape (they won't fit through
the excluder either).

After three weeks or so, once all the brood has emerged, you could then:
2a.) Remove the comb and do what you wish with it.
2b.) If the comb has honey being stored in it (likely), crush it and lay the
pieces on the inner cover.  The bees will clean it up and take the honey
back down into their super in a day or two.
2c.) Complete step #1 with the comb at that time, using the frames that will
be going into the second super.  This saves the bees a lot of energy, honey
and time in not having to recreate the wax and comb all over again.

Whichever option you take, feed the bees.  They'll still have a lot of comb
to build, and can use all the help you can offer.  They may take the syrup
slowly if a nectar flow is on, but better safe than sorry.

--David Scribner <[log in to unmask]> - Ballwin, MO, USA
  Niche on the Net! - <www.bigfoot.com/~dscribner>